Rating: 
Summary: Just an amazing book
Review: I just finished this book last evening and I couldnt think of anything else for the rest of the night. At 600 pages it may be a bit off-putting to some, but trust me, you will be glad you picked this book up. The realities of life as lived by the characters is harsh and brutal but you never feel that you are being hit over the head with it. Terrific character development, totally engrossing story. I was unable to see where I was being led, or how the story would end, and this lack of predictability kept me hooked on the work. Poignant. A very worthy read.
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding and challenging...
Review: Mistry's book is a delight; an excursion into worlds to which few Westerners are privy. The character development is excellent, and the plot is woven together with nothing less than genius. Though some thought of this work as a dismal tragedy (or rather, one after another), this book spoke to me of the incredible resilience of the human spirit and strength of friendship...as well as the fragility of ego.
Rating: 
Summary: flat and didactic
Review: "exotic" location, the terribly suffering poor, the conniving rich... sounds like mistry really hit the jackpot in terms of stirring the hearts of western readers. this book is a complete flop - the story is flat, the characters are completely under-developed and it's page over page of didactic diatribes about the plight of the untouchables. it's neither art nor entertainment. do yourself a favor and pick up rushdie instead.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully compelling
Review: A Fine Balance is a fine book. I could not put it down. Rohinton Mistry manages to get inside all his characters' hearts and minds. He keeps many different threads together throughout the entire lengthy narrative, and while his writing is bittersweet, it is brilliant. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone, and in fact, it was a gift to me from my goddaughter. I recommend it despite its relentless tragedy and the hubris that befalls virtually all the central protagonists. It seems extreme that even among the poorest strata of Indian society, people could so often be their own worst enemies. Dina's brother is awful, yes, but she never learns to handle him, forever defying him with the vigour of an angry teenager. Her myopia extends beyond her progressively worsening eyes to her relationships. The same is true of the wonderful tailors, Ishvar and his nephew Om, who cannot seem to take one step forward without taking two back. And Maneck, Dina's boarder and friend to the tailors, lives his life with the morose despair of a Thomas Mann character. He, like Om, is bad tempered and impatient with the people who care for him the most. These characters are not essentially unkind or amoral. But their rage does not always seem to be enough to account for their ill-conceived actions. True, life is hard, but they seem incapable of absorbing its lessons, and their judgment remains puerile. Only rarely does Mistry show his truly villainous characters suffering just retribution, and a hugely rewarding event that is. For the most part, however, it seems we are to infer that no good deed will go unpunished, and that cheaters usually do, after all, prosper. Whatever balance there may be in this book is meager and tenuous at best. What a gloomy theme. But it doesn't matter. This story is so compelling, the words so rich and tactile, that the characters will haunt you long after you have reluctantly closed the book.
Rating:
Summary: A MASTERPIECE by A MASTER STORY TELLER
Review: Rohinton Mistry is truly the Dickens of our time. He weaves such a tight and deliciously captivating plot, that the reader is forced to emotionally connect with every character and the enchanting illustrations of each setting. Very few writers can take a historically accurate piece and create fictitious characters, who can stir such rich realism.
In the story, the four main characters, Dina Dalal, Maneck, Ishvar and Omprakash face government curruption, a repressive caste system, and seemingly unsourmountable obstacles. Through it all they teach us, a very valuable lesson about our humannnes. In the face of injustice and apparent hopelesness the human spirit can choose to become unconquerable.
Humor, suspense, tragedy, all important elements of a masterpiece, are not at all lost within Mistry's beautiful prose. In fact Mistry's use of narrative is exquisite. His descriptions have such detailed depth and yet, they are not void of realism.
"A Fine Balance", worthy of a Nobel Prize in Literature, is way too exquisite for shallow reading. It should be reserved only for the brave of heart and the truly self-disciplined.
Rating: 
Summary: Weird, Different, Excellent ending
Review: This book was weird while reading it. I love being exposed to new things but...this was a little strange. However, I still think about things in this book, just little things that happened during the book's journey pop into my mind at the strangest moments. While reading this book I could just see the characters climbing up the hill, only to slide back down, but they kept getting back up to climb the hill again.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, intense, funny and ultimately depressing..
Review: I finish this book overwhelmed by wonderful writing about how misfits in several castes in India fare in their lives. The writing is excellent and stories woven intricately despite the tragic and depressing tone. It is Dickensian in nature but more riveting and when I finished I just felt overwhelmed by sadness and am planning on discussing this with my Indian friends--is it REALLY like that? REALLY?
Not uplifting but certainly enlightening and a great read. Could hardly put it down. This is a book which you do not forget or dismiss.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece in many dimensions
Review: This book is a true masterpiece. A greatly told-story, a fabulous exposure to life and culture in India and a saddening and realistic exposure to the tragic turns of life for many of its citizens. I was fascinated by the historic perspective, the clarity of the descriptions and the stressful, sometimes desperate lives of its main characters. The book is hard to take and it affects the reader tremendously. So, it may take a while to finish it but every word is worth the agony of watching the characters' lives unfold the way they did. Lastly, Mistry's use of humor in the midst of such wretched situations is truly superb. I have rarely read a book that accomplishes so much in so many fronts. Unforgettable and a sad awakening to the reality of millions of citizens in India.
Rating:
Summary: An Indian Tapestry
Review: I'd like to compare this book to a quilt, since Dina Dalal crafts one during the story, but I felt it was more of a tapestry. The comparison to Charles Dickens seemed very appropriate. Throughout the book, the characters took turns being developed and enmeshed, much like the threads that compose a tapestry. This was a welcome change to Midnight's Children, which I also read. This book did an excellent job of defining the culture and events of the time. I learned more about the caste system than I wanted to, as well as the corruption of the period. Although it's a long book, that was part of its allure - I was happy to be able to continue reading about the four main characters and see what they were going through.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing
Review: It took almost three months to finish this book. Not that it was boring, it was just quite draining psychologically. The book is very engrossing and writing is compact. There are so many misfortune happen to all the characters in this book that I felt I was living through those misery with them. I found myself keep hoping something good to happen to them but it never does. I could barely go through few pages a day. When I finally finished it, I could not fall a sleep for awhile. How could anyone's life so full of misery and misfortune??!! But I recommend this book to anyone. It again amazes me that one's writing can have such a impact on readers.
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